April 1 marked the 100th edition of the Molecule of the Month,
a series produced by David S. Goodsell and featured on the RCSB
PDB website.

April 2008 feature on adrenergic receptors marks
the 100th Edition of Molecule of the Month

Snapshot:
April 1, 2008

49760

released atomic
coordinate entries

Molecule
Type

45906

proteins, peptides,
and viruses

1839

nucleic acids

1982

protein/nucleic acid
complexes

33

other

Experimental
Tecnique

42342

X-ray

7150

NMR

170

electron microscopy

98

other

31499

structure factor
files

3931

NMR restraint files

Since January
2000, this series has explored the structure and function of proteins
and nucleic acids found in the PDB archive such as transfer RNA,
anthrax toxin, and multidrug resistance transporters. To commemorate
this event, the RCSB PDB will be offering temporary tattoos of an
adrenergic receptor at upcoming meetings. The feature is also available
in a specially formatted PDF.

Written and illustrated by David S. Goodsell (The Scripps Research
Institute), the Molecule of the Month provides an easy
introduction to the RCSB PDB for teachers and students. It is used
in many classrooms to introduce structures to students, and is an
integral part of the protein modeling event at the Science Olympiad.

The text and images are related to the featured molecule; the RCSB
PDB pages link to examples of the molecule. In response to requests,
a view of the highlighted structure in Jmol is included in new features
to provide an interactive view of the molecule.

New Molecule of the Month features are made available from
the RCSB PDB home page with the first update of each month. Alphabetical
and chronological listings of past issues are provided. wwPDB partner
PDBj has recently started to translate the Molecule of the Month
into Japanese.

Links to the series are also available from RCSB PDB's Structure
Explorer pages. Selecting "Learn more: [M]" takes the
reader to any Molecule of the Month feature related to
that particular entry.

David S. Goodsell

To create the series, Goodsell combines his
artistic talent with his scientific expertise in his visual representations
of molecular biology. He creates his images so as to capture his
excitement about science and communicate it to others.

“The combination of art and science gives me a way to access
the wonder of nature. It makes me really look at results and think
about them in a deeper way,” Goodsell says. “The thing
that drives me continually is the beauty of these objects that I’m
working on and being amazed at how unusual they are.”